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Shopping in Seoul, South Korea is not exactly cheap (except for skincare products from local Korean brands) but there is a way that you can get more bang
for your bucks claiming VAT tax refunds from your shopping in Korea. You can enjoy 10% tax refund when you spend more than 30,000 Korean won
(KRW) (about 30 USD or 38 Singapore dollars) from any shop in South Korea with Tax Free logos the more notable ones are Global Blue Tax Free
and the Orange Global Tax Free logos. This applies anywhere in South Korea e.g. Seoul, Jeju and other parts of the country as long as the shop has the
logos shown in the picture below. I will be sharing with you a guide to claiming tax refund not just via the traditional way of claiming tax refunds at airport
but how you can also save a lot of time claiming tax refunds in Downtown Seoul while your shop.
Even when you buy Korean snacks e.g. Lotte cookies, Korean ramen from supermarkets like Big C, you can also claim for tax refund if you spend more than
KRW 30,000 (Korean won). Simply proceed to the Information Counter for help on claiming tax refund.
You will not get paid your 10% VAT tax refund on the spot. You will have to ask the cashier for a tax refund slip typically provided in a white and blue
envelope (Global Blue Tax Free) or in a white and orange envelope (Global Tax Free). The tax refund slips and receipts are typically written in Korean but
you can easily deduce how much tax refund you are eligible for. So Step 1 to claiming your 10% tax free is to get your tax refund slip.
Before you get too excited about tax refund claims do note these conditions for tax refunds.
You must have spent at least 30,000 Korean won (inclusive of tax) at a shop participating as Global Blue or Orange Global Tax Free. Whatever you bought
must have been purchased within 3 months of your departure from Korea.
You must be an foreign visitor who has been residing/visiting in Korea for less than six months or is an overseas Korean (holder of Korean passport and
permanent resident) residing in/visiting Korea for less than 3 months or is a Korean student studying abroad for three years or more.
These persons are not eligible for tax refund claims: U.S. Armed Forces in Korea, diplomats in Korea, foreigners without passport, those who overstayed
their visa, foreigners working in Korea.
There are airport staff around the customs office to assist you with your tax refund after you have gotten the stamp of approval from the customs officers. We
had to scan our receipts using Tax Refund machines not quite sure what this step is all about just follow instructions from the staff. You will still not get
your money here. Proceed to check-in your luggages and go to the secured airport area after clearing immigration.
At Incheon airport, the gate to take note of within the secured airport area is Gate 28. This is where the Global Blue Tax Free and Global Tax Free offices
are located at. You will typically have tax refund slips from both companies if you do a lot of shopping in Seoul. Do note that Global Blue Tax Free office
will not process your tax refund slips from Global Tax Free (the orange one) so if you have a mix of both tax refund slips you will need to re-queue at the
other office after you have completed with one. Do note that if you dont have the All Goods Exported stamp on your tax refund slip, you can forget about
claiming your tax refunds.
Claiming your tax refunds via the Global Blue Tax Free and the Orange Global Tax Free at Gate 28 is not the only way some receipts are eligible for autotax refunds via Tax Refund machines in the airport try to scan your receipts to see if your receipts are eligible. I think this is what the above Step 3 is about
to check the eligibility for such auto-tax refunds before you clear immigration.
Do note that the tax refund process at the Incheon airport can involve quite a lot of queuing so get to the airport early if you intend to do tax refund claims.
For international flights by non-Korean carriers e.g. Singapore Airlines, you will still need to take the shuttle train to the other terminal to catch your flight so
do budget some time to do these tax refunds if you plan to do so at Incheon Airport.
If you are leaving the country from an airport/port that does not have a tax refund counter or got your documents stamped but did not have the time to visit
the tax refund counter or are traveling at a time when the counter(s) is closed, drop off your tax refund slips at the Refunds Box. The tax refunds will be sent
directly to your credit card-linked bank account.
There is another way to settle your tax refunds even before going to the airport and skip all the queuing and waiting at the airport.
Global Blue
Location
Opening Hours
Global Tax Free Main Building 1F, Shinsegae Department Store, Myeongdong
B1 and 5F, Doota, Dongdaemun
Shopping online is one way you can avoid all these hassle of claiming tax refunds for example with online fashion and beauty retailer Zalora you can find
watches online for women right now there are over 99+ designs to choose from!
Do note these conditions for tax refunds in South Korea (you can claim up to 10% VAT tax refunds!) You must have spent at least 30,000 Korean
won (inclusive of tax) at a shop participating as Global Blue or Orange Global Tax Free. Whatever you bought must have been purchased within 3
months of your departure from Korea. You must be an foreign visitor who has been residing/visiting in Korea for less than six months or is an
overseas Korean (holder of Korean passport and permanent resident) residing in/visiting Korea for less than 3 months or is a Korean student studying
abroad for three years or more. These persons are not eligible for tax refund claims: U.S. Armed Forces in Korea, diplomats in Korea, foreigners
without passport, those who overstayed their visa, foreigners working in Korea.
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Thanks Zhiqiang & Tingyi for your response. No, unfortunately I did not get the stamp on my tax refund forms. So I guess its a lost cause for me.
Thanks anyway.
Reply
It states 7am to 9pm for Global Blue. You can search online for opening hours of other tax refund offices.
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